In current radiotelephone systems such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) radiotelephone system currently in use in Europe, a SIM card is inserted into a radiotelephone for providing subscriber identification, billing information and other information concerning the operation of the radiotelephone. In the GSM system, the same hardware can be used with any SIM card inserted into the SIM card reader of the radiotelephone.
Additionally, telephone system operators generally like to provide subsidized telephones for loyal customers. Ideally, a subscriber could obtain a subsidized phone in return for a promise to use a telephone system's service for a certain predetermined amount of time. However, since all the subscriber information is contained on the SIM card, there is no manner in which a telephone system operator may tie the subsidized telephone to a particular subscriber. Thus, the subscriber is free to obtain a subsidized phone from a first system operator and obtain service from a second system operator. Consequently, it would be advantageous to tie a particular SIM card to a particular radiotelephone for a predetermined amount of time to provide a manner for telephone system operators to provide subsidized radiotelephones to their customers.